Curating consumer health apps 2.0

With Happtique apparently exiting the health app curation/vetting for consumers business [TTA 17 May], HealthTap, which has built up several doctor-related applications such as a provider directory, Q&A and referral service, is entering with AppRx. It takes a semi-crowdsourcing approach to curation, building up reviews and recommendations from its claimed 40,000 physician users which are then reviewed by a ‘medical review board’ of chosen physicians. For both doctors and patients, AppRx has its own interface for viewing the Apple and Android app stores and further breaks down types of apps into 30 categories. Prescribing is in the future. If this sounds more than a bit like Happtique’s mRx, it does–in the originally conceived version. HealthTap’s also been well-financed– $38 million by Khosla Ventures, Mayfield Fund, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Eric Schmidt and various angels. HealthTap takes on app curation, prescribing (Mobihealthnews)

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• Telecare: from simple personal alarms (AKA pendant/panic/medical/social alarms, PERS, and so on) through to smart homes that focus on alerts for risk including, for example: falls; smoke; changes in daily activity patterns and 'wandering'. Telecare may also be used to confirm that someone is safe and to prompt them to take medication. The alert generates an appropriate response to the situation allowing someone to live more independently and confidently in their own home for longer.

• Telehealth: as in remote vital signs monitoring. Vital signs of patients with long term conditions are measured daily by devices at home and the data sent to a monitoring centre for response by a nurse or doctor if they fall outside predetermined norms. Telehealth has been shown to replace routine trips for check-ups; to speed interventions when health deteriorates, and to reduce stress by educating patients about their condition.

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